SOUR LAKE, Texas — After a season that saw the Hardin-Jefferson Hawks go 0-10 in 2023, HJ will enter into 2024 with "a lot of optimism" says Head Coach Zach Bass.
Returning from the previous squad will be eight players on the offensive side of the football, while the defense will see six make a return.
Among the returning starters from the offense is Sophomore quarterback Bryndyn Lee.
Lee is one of the many players Bass mentioned by name.
"[He is] very athletic, gritty, [and] isn't afraid of contact," Bass said.
Lee is the kind of QB that can help revolutionize an offense. A QB can always use his legs, but he can only go so far as the weapons that surround him.
Targets don't get much better or more versatile than wide receiver Sam Jones.
In talking about Jones, Bass said that he "is the overall leader of our team."
A "tough kid" who already has collegiate programs keeping their eyes on him in 2024.
The 2023 season for the Hawks was not entirely what anyone had planned for the program, but Bass has coached a long time and he knows the sun will rise in the morning,
"Last year didn't really live up to the expectations we had, we had a little adversity, [but] through loss and strain, comes success," said Bass.
Entering a new district among other Southeast Texas programs like Eric Peevey's Little Cypress-Mauriceville Bears, Chase McDonald's Lumberton Raiders, Josh Smalley's Bridge City Cardinals and Dwayne Dubois' Vidor Pirates, the road doesn't get any easier for the Hawks.
However, Bass tells HJ Hawks supporters that "they're going to notice a substantial improvement in product" coming in 2024.